Microsoft improving Kinect accuracy

Company admits there's room for improvement

Kinect was supposed to be the most accurate, most precise motion detection camera ever seen in gaming. But apparently it still needs some tuning up, as Microsoft will be implementing more sophisticated software to power the device.

For example, the Kinect currently captures video at a resolution of 320x240, but Microsoft wants to up that to 640x480. It also only hits a max of 30 frames per second and could be more precise if it could do more.

The current limitations deal with how much data goes through the USB interface, which currently carries everything at around 15 megabytes per second.

However, the USB technology allows for up to 35, so if Microsoft can do a better job at manipulating the data transfer, it could make Kinect even more powerful. It's currently limited because of the multiple USB ports on the Xbox 360, but Microsoft is working on a fix to that.

In an interview on the subject, tech expert Rich Leadbetter said the improvements are "all eminently doable though bearing in mind that Kinect 'only' needs 20MB/s for full res from both cameras."

So what does all this technobabble mean? Well, first of all, Microsoft knows there's room for improvement with the Kinect sensor, sothe device isn't doing all it can do at the moment. Second, if you're having problems with Kinect Sports, it's not your fault. Nahh...actually, Kinect is still pretty precise, but it's good to know that it can be upgraded and enhanced through simple dashboard updates.